clearer default device selection

[jnnnnn]

I had a lot of trouble configuring pulseaudio to use a usb headset because I did not realize how to set the default device in padevchooser.

I would like the entries on the Input Devices and Output Devices tabs in the Volume Control to have checkboxes for whether they are the default. This is better than having a single item on the right-click menu - many people may not realize that you can right click on these entries.

[jnnnnn]

Far better would be if pulseAudio defaulted to usb devices without user interaction! After all, the usb device wouldn't be plugged in (or will be unplugged) if it shouldn't be used.

[coling]

As you alluded to, padevchooser is deprecated and is not recommended for general use.

The default device selection in pavucontrol is often missed so having a radio button may not be a bad idea to expose it better.

Patches welcome :)

I don't think defaulting to usb devices would be popular in all cases, but there is certainly scope for exposing more "rules" to users via a nicer UI to make such decisions for them when routing streams. The reason I don't think it should always be default is that some people plug in USB headsets for VoIP purposes and wouldn't want all sounds coming through that device.

[lennart]

recent pavucontrol snapshots now expose the default device differently (with a visible button) and don't hide it anymore in a right-click menu.